Abelardo Morell, author of last year's award-winning A Book of Books, makes magical camera obscura images in darkened interiors. The deceptively simple process--he blacks out all of the windows leaving just a pinhole opening in one of them--produces photographs of astonishing, complex beauty. Due to the nature of refracted light, the world outside his darkened room is projected, upside-down, onto the interior space within which he works, converting the room, in effect, into the interior of a camera. Morell then photographs the results with a large-format view camera, often requiring exposures of eight hours or more. Locations around the world were chosen for the interesting details and juxtapositions they would elicit--the Empire State Building lies across a bedspread in a midtown Manhattan interior; the Tower of London is imprinted on the walls of a room in the Tower Hotel; the countryside in rural Cuba, Morell's birthplace, plays across the walls of a crumbling interior that is rich with the patina of its own history. Every image is full of surprises and revelations.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Scientific American
As the world of photography grows ever more digitized, Morell offers a glorious and surprising reminder of its classical roots. The well-known Cuban-born photographer essentially turns a room into the interior of a camera. He blacks out the windows, leaving a pinhole opening in one of them. Because of the nature of refracted light, the scene outside the window is projected upside down into the dim room. Morell then captures the room on film with a large-format view camera; exposures can take eight hours or more. The juxtapositions in the book's 60 duotones are eerily beautiful: New England clapboard houses hang serenely on the walls of a child's bedroom strewn with toy dinosaurs; Times Square throws a patchwork over the walls and bed of a Manhattan hotel room; the cityscape of Havana spreads across the crumbling interior wall of an apartment.
Editors of Scientific American
Review
"Morell is a virtuoso of the camera obscura." -- Mark Singer, The New Yorker
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sublime and Intriguing,
By Nick Radujko (Wainwright, Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Camera Obscura (Hardcover)
Photography is a fascinating art form. What is more fascinating is when a photographer transcends the photo to create artistic imagery that invites on in to spend time viewing the image. Abelardo Morell does just this. The quality of the writing and the paper just add to the overall experience. A book worthy of a special spot on the shelf or, even better, on the coffee table so many can share in the beauty.
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wow again!,
This review is from: Camera Obscura (Hardcover)
Picked up Morell's newest at the Brookline Booksmith book signing the other night, where the artist gave an inspiring talk. Going back for more copies tonight. This is the single best homage to photography ever! Where does a person get such fantastic ideas and how does he realize them with such beauty and wonder? Last year, one could hardly imagine how Morell might follow up his equally elegant Book of Books. Well, now we know.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Camera Obscura (Hardcover)
Simply one of the most amazing photographic works I'v ever seen. I really recommend it for all photography lovers. Awesome, awesome!
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Victor Hugo's poem "La Conscience" tells how Cain, after murdering Abel, found himself stalked by the eye of God. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
camera obscura Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Victor Hugo's poem "La Conscience" tells how Cain, after murdering Abel, found himself stalked by the eye of God. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
camera obscura Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 3
books:
1
book
cites this book:
- Through The Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll on page 7
- Through the Looking-Glass (Dover Thrift Editions) by Lewis Carroll on page 7
- Through the Looking Glass: Complete and Unabridged (Puffin Classics) by Lewis Carroll on page 7
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